Sweden is increasing patrolling on Gotland in the midst of tensions between NATO and Russia
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STOCKHOLM, January 13 (Reuters) – The Swedish military said on Thursday that they are increasing their visible activities on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea due to increased tensions between NATO and Russia over Ukraine.
Moscow has intimidated the Western world by gathering troops near Ukraine, which has raised fears that it is considering invading. Moscow denies all such plans and says they can deploy forces on their territory however they want. Read more
Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, is strategically important and is located approximately 330 kilometers (205 miles) from Kaliningrad, the headquarters of Russia’s Baltic Fleet. In 2019, Sweden installed an updated ground-to-air missile defense on the island.
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– From today, we will have patrols out that will be seen in certain places, including in (the city) Visby, says Gotland Regiment’s spokesman Tomas Angshammar.
Sweden is not a member of NATO but has close ties to the Atlantic Alliance and has strengthened its armed forces after decades of neglect amid growing concerns about the Russian saber race in the Baltic Sea region.
Stockholm has in recent years complained about several incidents with Russian military planes, including violations of Swedish airspace.
Sweden’s top military commander said last week that Sweden’s security strategy would be completely undermined if NATO agreed to refrain from expanding further and to curb part of its operations in Europe, as Russia has demanded. Read more
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Reporting by Helena Soderpalm and Anna Ringström Editing by Gareth Jones
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